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This massive, fortress-like abbey, built by Benedictine monks in the 10th century, can be seen from a great distance. When it was built, the low hill on which it now stands was an island surrounded by pools and marshes and is still, appropriately, known as Mount Ararat. Damaged by fire in 1726, the abbey was restored during the 19th century, and its Eglise Notre-Dame is one of the largest Romanesque buildings in Provence. Below the church, a 12th-century crypt and chapel have been carved into the hillside (see Abbaye de Montmajour).

Silvacane, along with Sénanque (see Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque) and Thoronet, is one of the three great sister-abbeys constructed in the 12th century by the Cistercian order as it rose to prominence in Provence. Its plain, austere architecture reflects the rule of the order, which was founded by St Bernard in protest at the luxury and corruption of other monasteries. The church has a high, vaulted transept and the cloister arcades and refectory were added in the 13th and 14th centuries. Abandoned by its monks in the late 14th century, it became a living abbey once again in the 20th century.

There is much manmade splendour in Provence, but little to touch the majesty of this 12th-century Cistercian abbey, built in a wooded dip near Lorgues. Probably the finest example of Romanesque architecture in the region, along with its sister houses, Silvacane and Sénanque (see Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque), it rises with sober magnificence. The un-mortared stones of the church, monks’ buildings and cloisters are decorated only by changing sunlight, their interior volumes inspiring awe and serenity. The harmony of structure and setting make contemplation unavoidable.

When the summer lavender flowers, this medieval abbey surrounded by purple fields is a spectacular sight (see Abbaye Notre-Dame de Sénanque).

In AD 40 St Honorat brought Christianity to Provence, founding the first monastery on Ile de Lérins. Camarguais legend, however, claims Christianity was brought here by Mary Magdalene herself (see Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer).

Aix is just a stone’s throw from the sprawl of Marseille, but keeps its own identity, with cosmopolitan cafés, a grand cathedral and beautiful 18th-century fountains (see Aix-en-Provence).

This French author and existentialist (1913–60) wrote his autobiography at Lourmarin.

Dumas (1802–70) used the Château d’If (see Château d’If) as the grim backdrop to The Count of Monte Cristo (1845).

Daudet (1849–97) is best remembered for Tartarin de Tarascon , the tale of a Provençal bumpkin (see La Tarasque, Tarascon).

The aircraft of the French author and pilot vanished in 1944 while on a reconnaissance flight over Provence.